Rival globalizations? : an analysis of US-EU post-Cold War trade disputes

• Main Author: Kaya, Ayse
• Published: London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) 2006
• Subjects: 327.7304
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.645623

This dissertation examines how the USA and the EU shape, or try to shape, globalization in divergent ways. In other words, it seeks to understand whether the two powers produce rival globalizations. Towards this end, the thesis utilizes US- EU trade disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as case studies. The WTO provides a good basis to study the manifestations of globalizations. Moreover, WTO disputes provide for good data-the documentation on the disputes illuminates the positions of the USA and the EU in a dispute. The two specific disputes the thesis studies are the conflicts over bananas and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In addition, the dissertation investigates the two powers' bilateral and regional trade agreements (RTAs). While the first two case studies analyze specific disputes, the third case study investigates rival globalizations from a general perspective. The variables of analysis in the case studies are core of the dispute and competing outlooks. In operationalizing rival globalizations, the dissertation examines the two powers' impact on the WTO and explores whether the two powers utilize international organizations other than the WTO as well as trading partners divergently. In each of these case studies, the discussion investigates the assumption that two powers produce rival globalizations. Also, the dissertation examines how the two powers impact on globalization divergently. Moreover, the thesis enquires as to whether the presence of rival globalizations is relatively more pronounced in some situations. If so, it explores the reasons as to why this may be the case. The dissertation pursues empirical over theoretical analysis. Nevertheless, it was inspired by and relates to a theoretical debate. It relies on a combination of the transformationalist approach to globalization with a basic realist understanding of international relations.